Etymograph

English

bailey

Bailey comes from Old French baile ‘palisade, enclosure’, from Latin bacula ‘diminutive of bāca: a small berry’, and ultimately from baculum ‘stick, rod’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbaculum1‘stick, rod’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbacula1‘diminutive of bāca: a small berry’plural of baculum
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400baile1‘palisade, enclosure’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2023bailey1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bailey
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Why Birds Are Not Dinosaurs (And Why It Matters): “Birds are dinosaurs" is the bailey; "birds are more…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbaculumWiktionary, English bailey‘stick, rod’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbaculaWiktionary, English bailey‘diminutive of bāca: a small berry’plural of baculum
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400baileWiktionary, English bailey‘palisade, enclosure’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2023baileyWiktionary, English bailey. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Why Birds Are Not Dinosaurs (And Why It Matters): “Birds are dinosaurs" is the bailey; "birds are more…”

Linked words

through Latin baculum ‘stick, rod’

debacle, baguette, imbecile, bacillus, 13 more

Today it means

noun The outer wall of a feudal castle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bailey”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin baculum / bailey

Shirt and support for this word